With ‘Boogie’ Cousins, Warriors should have a surplus...

1of6LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 12: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors during warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers on November 12, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)Photo: Robert Laberge / Getty Images

2of6Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0) during the second half of an NBA preseason game at SAP Center on Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, in San Jose, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

3of6DeMarcus Cousins reacts on the bench as the Golden State Warriors played the New Orleans Pelicans at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, October 31, 2018.Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / The Chronicle

5of6From left: Golden State Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins (0), Stephen Curry (30) and guard Andre Iguodala (9) react from the bench during the first half of an NBA game against the Brooklyn Nets at Oracle Arena on Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018, in Oakland, Calif.Photo: Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle

6of6LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 12: DeMarcus Cousins #0 of the Golden State Warriors during warm up before the game against the Los Angeles Clippers on November 12, 2018 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)Photo: Robert Laberge / Getty Images

The Warriors just got fun again.

They just added a dash of Boogie to their game. As in: DeMarcus “Boogie” Cousins, who Thursday was given an official, if tentative, date for playing his first game with the Warriors: next Friday, against the Clippers in Los Angeles.

It’s worth reviewing how Cousins got his nickname. In his one season of college ball, at Kentucky, assistant coach Rod Strickland watched the new center scrimmage and told him, “Man, you’ve got a lot of boogie.”

In other words, Cousins might look like a huge, lumbering fellow, the type basketball people used to call an aircraft carrier, but he’s got some style, some skills, some boogie.

He is just what the doctor ordered for the Warriors: a superstar player who puts high-level moves — and emotion — into the game.

Boogie Is Back

No more wondering if the Warriors can shake out of their recurring bouts of lethargy. With Cousins joining the fun, the Warriors instantly will be the most watched and talked-about team in basketball, and they also should become the most energized and engaged team.

They have so much to gain, so much to lose.

If head coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors find a way to blend Cousins into their attack at both ends of the court, they will be a frightening, horrifying and beautiful team.

If the experiment fails, the Warriors will be mocked for getting too greedy in collecting high-level talent, and for not being cool enough or smart enough to figure out how to dominate the league with five (good Lord!) future Hall of Famers, all in their primes.

For all of the Warriors’ fans who can’t wait to see what Cousins adds, there are plenty of haters out there who will cackle with glee if the Warriors fail to thrive.

So thanks to Cousins, it’s back to the good old days of a couple of seasons ago when you had to watch the Warriors every game.

Kerr said that Cousins will be in the starting lineup right away. There might be practical reasons for that, but the suspicion here is that Kerr’s sense of theater comes into play. A lot of coaches would bring Cousins off the bench at first, let him dip his toes in the water. Kerr is saying, Dive right in. That’s a show of confidence that the sensitive Cousins is likely to appreciate.

Not that Kerr is going to tap-dance around Cousins. Kerr told me last week, “He’s got to come in and fit with us, more than vice versa. And I don’t think that will be a problem. ... We’ll try to put him in position to accentuate his skills, then he’s got to adapt to the players around him. It’ll take some time, but I don’t feel like we’ll have to change our offense just to fit him in.”

Apparently, there already has been a little drama behind the scenes. Cousins might have thought he was ready to come back sooner, but the medical and coaching staff opted to hold him back a bit longer.

“It was a battle between myself, the training staff (and) the guys at the top,” Cousins said of the decision on when he would start playing. “Eventually, we all got on the same page and we settled for that date.”

Cousins might have meant that it was more of a debate or discussion, rather than a battle, but don’t let me stand in the way of a little drama.

Speaking of theater, that’s a huge element Cousins brings to the party. He’s as outwardly emotional on the court as anyone in the NBA, and that includes Draymond Green.

“You know, I play with a chip on my shoulder,” Cousins said Thursday. “I use different things as fuel to keep me moving forward.”

Bring it on, Kerr said, recalling a game in Sacramento a few years ago, where he blew a fuse, got ejected, and made eye contact with Cousins, who gave Kerr a little toodle-oo wave. Cousins remembered the moment, and said he appreciates Kerr’s fiery side.

Cousins’ temperament — he’s happy on the court as long as nobody touches him and the refs call the game his way — should play well with the Warriors. It’s going to be almost impossible for them to slip into cruise control when their big center is roaring and raging and attacking.

Piquing Cousins’ interest is rarely a problem, and now he has the added motivation of proving he’s still got, you know, the boogie.

Scott Ostler has been a sports columnist at the San Francisco Chronicle since 1991. He has covered five Olympics for The Chronicle, as well as one soccer World Cup and numerous World Series, Super Bowls and NBA Finals.

Though he started in sports and is there now, Scott took a couple of side trips into the real world for The Chronicle. For three years he wrote a daily around-town column, and for one year, while still in sports, he wrote a weekly humorous commentary column.

He has authored several books and written for many national publications. Scott has been voted California Sportswriter of the Year 13 times, including six times while at The Chronicle. He moved to the Bay Area from Southern California, where he worked for the Los Angeles Times, the National Sports Daily and the Long Beach Press-Telegram.